Effect of high pressure deuterium annealing on electrical and reliability characteristics of MOSFETs with high-k gate dielectric

To completely passivate the interface states of high-k gate dielectrics, we have developed a new high-pressure (up to 100 atm), pure (100%) hydrogen annealing system. Compared with the control (1 atm) forming gas (H/sub 2//Ar=4%/96%) annealed sample, high pressure (5-20 atm), pure H/sub 2/ annealing of nMOSFETs at 400/spl deg/C shows 10-15% improvement in linear drain current (I/sub d/) and maximum transconductance (g/sub m,max/). Compared with hydrogen annealing, D/sub 2/ annealed samples exhibit longer hot carrier lifetime. By optimizing the process parameters, we are able to improve both device performance and reliability characteristics.